PARTICULARS FOR EPISODE IV:
The game will run during the month of February. Each Friday in Feb I will post 3 names, and each Monday in Feb I will post 2 names. This is a total of 20 points possible unless anyone beats a prior solution. Unless I post otherwise during the course of the game, the last day for solutions to be posted will be February 28.

First place wins:
- Trio of Trade Federation Fighter Droids (they fly or walk) made by Hasbro
- Brand-spankin'-new copy of "The Essential Chronology"

For those who didn't read the first thread on this topic and are wondering how to play, here's the scoop on that.

BASIC PREMISE:
For anyone who doesn't remember the game 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, it worked like this:
You try to link any given actor to Kevin Bacon in the following manner, each 'step' being one 'degree', with no more than 6 degrees. For example:
1st degree O.J. Simpson was in 'Naked Gun' w/
2nd degree Priscilla Presley, who was in 'Ford Fairlaine' w/
3rd degree Gilbert Gottfreid, who was in 'Beverly Hills Cop II' w/
4th degree Paul Reiser, who was in 'Diner' w/Kevin Bacon

Same idea, except that instead of linking to Kevin Bacon, you will need to link with ANY actor from ANY of the Star Wars Films. Here are a few extra guidelines:
1. You must state which Star Wars Film your connecting actor was in: i.e.,...who was in 'Trainspotting' w/Ewan McGregor (Episode I).
2. You may use the original films AND the Special Editions.
3. Only actors may be used to connect links, not directors, producers, writers, etc., unless that person made a cameo appearance in the film.

WHAT'S THE GOAL?
So, you ask, how do I win great prizes? Good question. I'm going to award points, and the person with the most points wins!

FIRST WAY TO EARN POINTS:
The game will run for a predetermined time period. From time to time during the game I will post the names of some actors. Then you post your solutions. The first person to post a solution for each actor earns 1 point. You don't have to wait until you have solved all of them, if you solve one, post it and get the point.

Even if the next round of actors has been listed, if a solution has not been posted for an actor from a previous post, solutions will still be accepted for that actor. So don't give up.

SECOND WAY TO EARN POINTS:
What if someone has already posted a solution that took 6 steps, but you found a solution with only 4 steps? Well, you're in luck. If you can post a shorter solution for an actor that has already been solved, you will earn 2 points. You are NOT eligible for this if you are the person who posted the first solution.

At the end of the game, whoever has the most points wins. I will post a scorecard occasionally to make it easier to keep track of your competition. Once we get going, depending on how many days between me posting the actors and someone posting a solution, at the end of the month, I may allow a few extra days to turn in solutions.

OK, I'm thinking the game will probably evolve in progress, so keep an eye on this thread for information. I will try to keep this fair for all, but I want to be able to ensure everyone can participate that might want to, and also keep things fairly competitive. It wouldn't be much fun if one person just waltzes away with it all.

A REMINDER:
You don't have to solve all actors to post a solution!
Solve one, post it, then try for the next one.

FIRST RULE CHANGE:
So that there are more points available, I will award a point to each solution that links through a different Star Wars actor, up to two points per player per "actor-to-be-linked".

For example:

SO - Alan Alda was solved by MER through Ewan McGregor (1 pt for MER).
Alan Alda was solved by JJ through Liam Neeson (1 pt for JJ).

MER and JJ could each earn an additional point for Alan Alda by posting new solutions linking through different SW actors.

Anyone who can link up Alan Alda through either Ewan McGregor or Liam Neeson IN FEWER DEGREES THAN the solutions already posted can earn TWO POINTS PER SHORTER SOLUTION. (And you are still ineligible to beat your own solution.)

THIS SHOULD RESULT IN A LOT MORE POINTS BEING AVAILABLE.

Maybe at the end of the game there'll be bonus points for having the most solutions via a certain SW actor, maybe +X pts for the person who posted the most solutions that linked through Carrie Fisher.

Suggest other ways to earn bonus points if you think of something.

So, for right now, it stands at:

MER - 3 pts.
JJ13 - 3 pts.

There's lots of other SW folks to link through, so get on in there!

P.S. Anyone who wants to complain about changing rules in midstream is always welcome to forfeit their prizes! : )

OK, everybody, I'm gonna post the names for Monday. But FIRST, I want to encourage everyone to play. There's plenty of points to go around now.

In case you didn't understand the rule change I posted, let me try to make it a little more clear.

TODAY'S NAMES ARE:
Bruce Willis
Catherine Zeta-Jones

OK, now there are MORE than 2 points available here! For each one of those two actors, there are virtually limitless points available. You can now earn a point if you can link Bruce Willis to Star Wars through Carrie Fisher. You can also earn a point by linking Bruce to SW through Harrison Ford. And another point by linking Bruce through Mark Hamill, and another through David Prowse, and another through Liam Neeson, and another through Natalie Portman, and so on, and so on, and so on, ad nauseum.

Remember, there are lots of points available for the actors that were already posted on Friday.

Okay, I know I'm making this hard, but I thought of another one. The only problem is that one link is from a t.v. series. I'm gonna post it, but if you won't accept it, that's okay! I tried though.

Bruce Willis was in The Whole Nine Yards (2000 me thinks) with Matthew Perry who is on Friends (?-2001) with Courtney Cox Arquette who was in Scream 3 (2000) with Carrie Fisher who was in Star Wars Ep. 4 (1977).

Sally Field was in Where the Heart Is (2000) with Natalie Portman who was in Star Wars Ep. 1 TPM (1999)

Sally Field was in Where the Heart Is (2000) with Ashley Judd who was in Double Jeopardy (1999) with Tommy Lee Jones who was in The Fugitive (1993) with Harrison Ford who was in Star Wars Ep. 4 ANH (1977).

Sally Field was in Where the Heart Is (2000) with Ashely Judd who was in Eye of the Beholder (2000) with Ewan McGregor who was in Star Wars Ep. 1 TPM (1999)

Catherine Zeta Jones was in The Haunting (1999) with Liam Neisson who was in TPM (1999)

And, here's some "rulings" on previous questions: 1) tv counts; and 2) nope, you can't use different movies to link the same actors, the first person who links a particular game actor to a particular SW actor get that point, the only way to get points with the same pair of actors is to link them in FEWER degrees.

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Don't forget that there are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes.

Since the latest rule change there are virtually an UNLIMITED NUMBER OF POSSIBLE POINTS AVAILABLE.

Bruce Willis has been linked to 15 different SW actors, but none of the other game actors have been linked to more than 5 SW actors so far. So, lots of points are ripe for the pickin'.
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